A co-option to Galway City Council by the Social Democrats seems imminent following the decision yesterday of its first ever city councillor to resign.
Cllr Owen Hanley tendered his resignation from the Council following what he said were a number of very serious allegations made against him online in recent days.
In the post early yesterday, he explained that “certain allegations” have been recently made against him and they will be investigated by the authorities.
In his resignation post on his Facebook page, he said that the matters that he was accused of will take some time to be examined fully by several authorities.
“In the past 48 hours certain allegations have been made about me.
“These are very serious matters and will obviously take a considerable length of time to be investigated fully by the appropriate authorities.
“In these circumstances I believe that the correct thing for me to do is to resign my membership of Galway City Council.
“I don’t propose to make any further comment in relation to the matter,” he concluded.
Cllr Owen Hanley was elected to the City Council four years ago, becoming the Social Democrats’ first ever city councillor in Galway.In the interim, he has been to the fore commenting on issues of social consciousness and is a regular attendee at protest meetings of importance in the city.
He was also the City Council’s first openly LGBT+ representative and was a vocal defender of the rights of minorities in the city.
It is expected that the co-option to fill his seat will be made in the next six weeks. The next election for membership of the City Council is just 18 months away and the prospect of retaining that seat will be a key determinant in the selection of the new councillor.
